Sephora uses Kik to engage with teens for prom.

Kik helped Sephora use bots to foster 1:1 communication with Gen Z around prom, a key beauty moment for teens.

Goal: Get teens excited about prom—and Sephora

Sephora was early to Kik, using bots to share content with teens, from on-demand access to tutorials and product guides to seasonal promotions. For prom—one of the first important beauty moments in the lives of many teens—Sephora sought to develop a tailored experience that would give teens a reason to stay engaged leading up to the big night and beyond.

Sephora developed a custom experience for teens within their bot on Kik, filled with prom-specific content, including makeup tips, style inspiration, and custom video content. Sephora engaged Helen Phillips, the Sephora Collection National Artist to broadcast a prom makeup tutorial to fans—and answer any questions teens might have—in real-time via Facebook Live. The Facebook Live also featured a social media influencer as the moderator and tutorial subject. The influencer shared the news about the Facebook Live and sweepstakes on her social channels as well.

Sephora promoted the Facebook Live stream through the Kik bot, using a sweepstakes to encourage subscribers to submit their questions through the bot ahead of time and push notifications to remind them to tune in (and see if their question was selected). The Kik community submitted 1,500 questions that were both authentic and personal, ranging from how to keep makeup on while dancing to how to cover up acne, and helped kickstart the Q&A portion of the live stream. Helen and the social media influencer closed the loop on the experience, driving Facebook Live viewers back to the Kik bot to encounter additional prom-related beauty content.

Sephora's custom prom bot experience helped drive ongoing engagement on Kik as well as viewership of the Facebook Live broadcast.

1,500

Submitted questions with Kik bot

600K+

Kik bot interactions

107K

Viewers in a week on Sephora Facebook Live

132K

Views per month on Sephora Facebook Live

1.1K

Reactions on Sephora Facebook Live

We were able to engage in real time with our Gen Z customers, helping her learn, get inspired and play with beauty, for an important moment...With Kik, we are able to participate in her social and mobile experience in a way that's natural and useful.